And more importantly, she's ready for the fair. This week, Elissa will be taking Lucy, along with several other dairy cattle, to compete in 4-H, FFA and open class shows at the Sioux Empire Fair.

Like many farm families, showing livestock at the fair is a family tradition for Elissa. For example, her grandpa Royal Selken took his first calf to the South Dakota State Fair in 1960. Her aunt Heidi Selken has been showing cattle at the Sioux Empire Fair since she was 8. And her 7-year-old cousin, Brody Ahlquist, Heidi's son, just started competing in the show ring, too.

For most fairgoers, the fair is about food, music and rides. But for livestock exhibitors, it's a lot of work.

During fair week, Elissa and other exhibitors will be continually washing and feeding their livestock, clipping their hair and cleaning their barns. "Every morning, the calves need to be washed," says Jerry Grace, the FFA livestock show supervisor. "And you have to rake up the alley in the barns and pick up the manure."

The animal's comfort always has to be considered, Grace says. "In the hot summer now, fans are always going in the buildings."

Livestock exhibitors spend a lot of time talking to fairgoers who wander through the barns. "I like it when people want to come up to the cows and pet them," Elissa says.

Royal Selken's wife, JoAnn, loves to talk with kids — especially those who have never seen a cow milked before. "Some are scared to death," she says. "But some will run right up to the cow."

Heidi Selken appreciates the opportunity to be an ag advocate and answer questions about their animals, to show people what modern farming looks like and to educate kids about where their food and milk come from.

"We want to show folks that we care deeply for our cows and that we're not here to just make money," she says. "We want to show that dairy farming is more than a job. It's a way of life."

Work and play

Showing livestock — whether cattle, swine, sheep or goats — at the fair means a lot of early mornings, Selken says. "Animals can't take care of themselves. You have to get up at 5 to take care of your calves. It still needs to be done, even if you stayed up too late the night before. You have to take pride in what you do."

It's a lot of work. But that doesn't mean there's no play.

"Growing up on a dairy farm, we didn't go on many vacations," Selken says. "We got to go places through 4-H. The fair was always our vacation. It was a working vacation, but it's the way I grew up."

And nothing beats hanging out in the fair barns with friends. "That's where I met some of my best lifelong friends," she says. Even though they were competitors in the ring, the hours and hours they spent laughing, joking and playing cards in the barns bonded them together for life.

And even though some of that time together was often spent cleaning up after their animals, "we always saved a little time to go on the rides," Selken says.

"It gets pretty hectic out at the fair on show days," Grace says. Exhibitors are up early, with everyone helping wash, dry and outfit livestock, he says.

Appearance counts for the exhibitors, too. The just-rolled-out-of-bed look won't fly in the show ring. Dairy kids, for example, have to wear white. "You look nice at the beginning of the day. Not so much at the end," Selken says.

Trying to get everything done before you're expected in the show ring can be stressful, JoAnn Selken says. "There's a lot of time-management issues," she says. "How are you going to do it all?"

These days, JoAnn isn't quite as hands-on as she used to be — that's a perk that comes with being the grandma. "But I like to see my daughters go through the same thing I did when they were younger," she says with a laugh. What goes around comes around, after all.

Somehow, everything that needs to get done gets done. And then it's time to enter the ring.

In the ring

Leading a calf out into the show ring in front of an audience of friends, fairgoers and judges can be nerve-wracking, admits Elissa, a member of the Colton Hustlers 4-H club. "It's kind of scary at first. But it's not too bad, I guess."

With all eyes on her, Elissa will walk her calf around the ring, stopping to position the cow in front the judges. "They're looking for how well you work with the cow and how the cow looks and how she stands," she says. "She should be straight through the back. The leg closest to the judge is supposed to be forward."

It doesn't always go smoothly, Heidi Selken says. Cattle aren't always willing to cooperate, as Brody found out during an open class show last year.

"This one laid down three or four times in the ring," Brody says. "But I got her up!"

Then the ribbons are awarded. Purple ribbons will earn 4-Hers the right to compete at the State Fair. First place blue ribbons and second place red ribbons are also presented.

Elissa has won her fair share of top ribbons and trophies for her work with her cattle through the years. "It makes me feel good for what I've done," she says.

While a first place ribbon is the immediate goal, that's not what competing in the show ring is all about. The ribbon represents responsibility and hard work, Grace says.

"Mom and dad can be there to help, but it's a lot of responsibility for a kid to take on if they want to do it right," he says.

Responsibility and a solid work ethic are important later in life, whether you're working with animals or not. "You learn that when you're 37 years old," Selken says.

These days, there are fewer livestock exhibitors at the fair. "There used to be 100 animals in dairy," JoAnn Selken says. There might be a dozen this year.

Every year, Grace says, the numbers drop. "There just aren't as many farm kids anymore," he says.

Though Royal and JoAnn Selken sold their dairy herd in 2000, their family members still will compete at the fair with cattle from Lynn Boadwine's dairy farm outside of Crooks, where Heidi is a herd manager.

"The only year I missed the Sioux Empire Fair was when Brody was born. He turns 8 on Wednesday," she says. "Otherwise, I've been showing cows since 1989."

The competition gets into your blood, Heidi says.

But for Elissa, it's all about being with her animals.

"I love spending time with them," she says. "Sometimes I'll just go lay by them. I've fallen asleep with my calves at the fair. It's something I look forward to every year."